Field Note 5
Weather. It's been in the news a lot lately. I've witnessed a bit of it but most of it is North or West of where I've been riding.
It's not to say I haven't been acutely aware of the possibility of getting caught in a violent storm. I check weather reports often and am ready to revise plans if there's a possibility of one coming thru. Then there are the clues: wind picks up, distant thunder. You know its coming soon when on the horizon a wall of dark blue/grey appears and it's upwind from you.
The latest example happened on my last day in Ohio. I was riding along the banks of the Ohio River thinking to myself if I should cross into Kentucky at Maysville and camp in the park by the river or check into a motel in Aberdeen Ohio based on a friendly strangers recommendation he'd given to me earlier in the day.
It had been nice all day. Warm, humid and sunny.
There was some reports of possible rain. It was getting on in the afternoon and I had put in 70+ miles. As I rode into Aberdeen, clouds had been forming on the other side of the river and some thunder could be heard. I decided to motel it for the night, better safe than sorry. So I pull into the Beverly Hills Inn just as a few rain drops fall and ask for a room. 47 bucks for the night and their bar Jethro's was serving food.
Classy joint by
NBend, on Flickr
Seemed good enough to me.
The skies open up while I was checking in. Thunder, torrents of rain blowing sideways like a cheap movie, I waited under the eaves for 15 minutes till the worst of it passed thru before going across the flooded parking lot to my room. Here's a little video I made:
I changed into some street clothes and went to the bar for dinner. I quickly ate my burger and retreated to my room after a really drunk customer decided to try and become my best friend at the bar. His loud slurred speech and heavy southern accent made it nearly impossible for me to understand him.
Anyways, I am sure some of you may be worried when you see the news reports of violent weather in the Midwest. I am being careful. Today, I cut the ride short and checked into a hotel because high winds, thunderstorms are expected this afternoon and evening. I started early and revised/shortened my route so I'd be in sheltered before 3pm. I look outside my window and see the winds are blowing pretty hard now.
I'll spend the rest of the day washing clothes and watching tv.
P.S. Ohio has an amazing set of interconnected bike trails running from Lake Erie to The Ohio River near Cincinnati. I spent 2 glorious days riding on the paved rail trails from Columbus to nearly Cincinnati. I cannot tell you how pleasurable it was to spend those days riding along without worrying about navigation or cars. Truly stress free. If you ever have a mind to try bike touring consider the Erie to Ohio bike trail. It would be super easy to do a 400 mile credit card tour on this route. Small towns along the way have really embraced the trail and the business it brings in.
Exceptional hospitality in small town Ohio. Camping in a city park. by
NBend, on Flickr
The little Miami river trail by
NBend, on Flickr